Fiddler on the Roof Tradition

Throughout Fiddler on the Roof, the tradition of arranged marriage is extremely prevalent. This idea is not simply rooted in Jewish history, as it is in the play, but has roots far earlier. For the most part, records show that arranged marriages seem to have begun somewhere in Asia. The reasoning behind this stands that parents should make important decisions, such as that of marriage, for their children. In most societies where this occurs, arranged marriages seem to last longer (which is obvious in most areas, due to the fact that if a society is using arranged marriages, divorce would probably end up with both members of the ended marriage being kicked out of said society) and in most cases, these marriages seem to provide happiness. Now most people in our culture would argue against this, saying that love is the only way to happiness, yet in arranged marriages, people wouldn't have a choice, so in the end, most probably choose to be happy. Once more, we see a tradition that is rooted in religious and societal cultures that root back far beyond the play we saw.